Winch



Nov. 22, 1960 F. E. FULTON ETAL 2,951,218

WINCH Filed July 15, 1957 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 A [lill/111114 1N VEN TOR5 Nov. 22, 1960 F. E. FULTON ETAL WINCH 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 15, 1957 INVENTORS Eri/$.62

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nited States Patent WINCH Floyd E. Fulton, West Allis, and .lames C. Knop, Milwaukee, Wis., assignors to The Fulton Company, West Allis, Wis., a corporation of Wisconsin Filed July 15, 1957, Ser. N0. 671,941

2 Claims. (Cl. 254-187) This invention relates in general to improvements in mechanism for lifting or hauling and lowering loads, and it relates more specifically to improvements in the construction and operation of Winches adapted for diverse uses.

The primary object of the present invention is to provide an improved winch assemblage which is simple in construction and efficient in operation.

Some of the more important specific objects of the invention are as follows:

To provide a compact but powerful winch which is extremely flexible in its adaptations.

To provide a load lifting or hauling and lowering mechanism which is conveniently manipulable to perform varions operations.

f To provide a winch device which is safely operable t displace relatively heavy loads.

To provide a Winch assemblage comprising relatively few sturdy parts which can be readily assembled or dismantled.

To provide a winch constructed primarily of durable sheet metal with the aid of punches and dies.

To provide a winch mechanism adapted to be manufactured in various sizes and for diverse uses at moderate cost. To provide a winch device which can be rapidly adjusted and operated to meet varying conditions of usage. g V These and other more specific objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following detailed description.

A clear conception of the several features constituting the present improvement, and of the construction and operation of a typical commercial winch embodying the invention, may be had by referring to the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification in which like reference characters designate the same or similar parts in the various views.

Fig. 1 is a top view of a practical winch embodying the improved structure, a portion of the manipulating handle having been broken away;

Fig. 2 is an end view of the same Winch having a part of the handle broken away;

i Fig. 3 is a longitudinal vertical section through the Winch, taken along `the line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 -is another longitudinal vertical section through the winch, taken along the line 4-4 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a transverse Vertical section through the same winch, taken along the line 5--5 of Fig. 3 and showing the brake, released or in off position;

Fig. 6 is a similar transverse vertical section also taken along the line 55 of Fig. 3, but showing the brake active or in on position;

Fig. 7 is another transverse vertical section through the winch, taken along the line 7-7 of Fig. 3 and showing the load holding latch in action; and

Fig. 8 is a transverse vertical section similar to that of Fig. 7, but showingpthe load holding latch released.

While the invention has been illustrated and described icc 2 as having been embodied in a manually manipulable winch constructed primarily of sheet metal, it is not the intent to restrict all of the improved features 'to such assemblages; and it is also contemplated that specific descriptive terms employed herein be given the broadest interpretation consistent with the disclosure.

Referring to the drawings, the typical commercial winch shown therein, comprises in general, a main frame formed of cooperating sections 10, 11 having reversely directed cup-shaped side walls 12, 13 respectively, interconnected by overlapping base extensions 14, 15 formed integral with the respective walls 12, 13; an elongated bearing member or bolt 16 rigidly uniting the frame walls 12, 13 remote from the base extensions 14, 15; a load carrying drum 17 journalled for rotation upon the member 16 and having opposite end disks 18, 19; a spur gear 2li secured to the drum 17 between its end disk 18 and the frame wall 12; a brake assembly 21 disposed between the drum end disk 19 and the other frame wall 13; a shaft 22 journalled on the frame end walls 12, 13 and spanning the drum 17 a pair of pinions 23, 24 disposed coaxially of the opposite end portions of the shaft 22 between `the walls 12, 13, the pinion 23 being secured to the shaft 22 and meshing with the gear 20 while the pinion 24 constitutes part of the assembly 21 and -is rotatable about the axis of the shaft 22; and a crank handle 25 secured to an end of the shaft 22.

The sections 1l), 11 of the main frame may he constructed of durable sheet metal with the aid of punches and dies, and in addition to the bearing member or bolt 16 these sections 1li, 11 may be firmly united by cap Screws 0r bolts applied to alined holes 26 in the base eX- tensions 14, 15 and which serve to mount the winch upon a suitable support, see Figs. 1 and 4. The cup-shaped end walls 12, 13 of the frame are dished to receive and confine the head and clamping nut of the bolt 16, and these cup walls with their stiifening brims besides providing strong supports for the drum 17 also form housings for confining the motion transmitting gears and other control mechanism for the winch. The drurn 17 has the sheet metal end disks 18, 19 welded or otherwise firmly attached thereto, and -is provided with a cable or rope attaching cleat 2.7 near the end disk 18 and with a cen tral bearing sieeve 28 firmly secured to opposite end bushings 29 and to the central portions of the disks 18, 19 as by welding, to provide an extremely strong drum assemblage. The annular spur gear 20 may be firmly attached to the flat end disk 18 of the drum 17 by welding, and may be accurately formed of several laminations of sheet metal as illustrated in Figs. 3 and 4.

The brake assembly 21 besides including the pinion 24, also comprises a sheet metal ratchet pawl 31 swingably supported upon a pivot 32 secured to the frame wall 13 and which is cooperable with the teeth of this pinion, a sheet metal friction disk 33 fastened to the shaft 22, and a brake facing 34 interposed between the pinion 24 and the disk 33. The pawl 31 has a manipulating stem 35 secured thereto and projecting outwardly of the adjacent frame wall 13 through an arcuate slot 36, and this pawl is constantly urged into on or o position by a toggle spring 37 one end of which engages a notch in the pawl periphery while its other end is secured to a sheet metal plate 38 swingably suspended from the bolt 16, see Figs. 3, 5 and 6. The brake facing 34 may be formed of leather, rubber or any other suitable material capable of providing frictional resistance upon the adjacent surfaces of the pinion 24 and disk 33, and the pinion 24 is secured to one end of a bearing sleeve 39 the opposite end of which coacts with a friction washer 40 with which the hub 41 of the crank handle 25 also coacts. This bearing sleeve 39 is mounted for rotation within a fixed bushing 42 attached to the frame wall 13, and the handle hub 41 has internal threads coacting with screw threads 43 on the protruding end of the shaft 22 and is secured to this shaft end by a wing nut 44 and Washer.

The driving shaft 22 which carries the friction disk 33 and the pinionrf, is .journalled for rotation within the bearing sleeve 39associated with the frame wall 13, and in an opposite end bearing 46 secured to the other frame wall 12, and this shaft 22 is rotatable in these bearings with the aid of the crank handle 2S to transmit rotary motion to the drum 17 through the pinion 23 and the ring gear 20. It is also noteworthy that both of the pinions 23, 'Z4 may also be formed of several laminations of sheet metal, and the teeth of the driving pinion 23 which coacts with the gear 20, are also adapted to be engaged by asheet metal load holding latch 47 which is swingably mounted on a pivot pin 48 secured to the frame end wall 12, see Figs. 1, 7 and 8. The latch 47 is swingable from active position as in Fig, 7 to released position as in Fig. .8, and vice versa, by means of a loop spring 49 and a manipulating stem t), and is automatically released from engagement with the pinion 23 by the spring 49 whenever the crank handle 25 is revolved to cause the drum and cable to lift or haul a load. The latch pivot pin 48 may be mounted in a sheet metal bracket 51 welded or otherwise attached to the frame section 10 within the brim of the end wall 12 as shown in Figs. 4, 7 and 8, and one end of the spring 49 passes through a hole 52 formed in the latch 47 while its opposite end is attached to the frame extension 14.

When the improved winch has been constructed and lassembled as hereinabove described, and a load lifting or hauling cabie has been firmly clamped tothe drum 17 with the aid of the cleat 27, its normal use and operation is as follows: After the load has been applied to the free end of the cable, the crank handle may be revolved to rotate the shaft 22 and the driving pinion 23 in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. S, thereby causing the ring gear 2G and the drum 17 to rotate about the fixed bearing bolt 16 in a counter clockwise direction and winding the cabe upon the drum periphery. While the crank handle 2S is thus being rotated in a clockwise direction to lift the load, the external screw threads 43 at the end of the shaft 22 will coact with the internal threads of the handle hub 41 to cause this hub to press inwardly against the bearing sleeve 39 through the friction washer 4%, and to simultaneously exert an outward pull on the shaft *22, thereby firmly clamping the facing 34 between the disk 33 and the adiacent pinion 24 so that the driving assemblage will function as a positive motion transmitting clutch. lf the holding latch 47 is in active position as in Fig. 7 when the load is being thus lifted or hauled, it will be automatically released as in Fig. 8 by the spring 49 and the advancing teeth of the rotating pinion 23 as soon as the handle 25 is thus actuated, but after the load has been pulled to the desired position the holding latch 47 may be swung into active position in engagement with the adjacent pinion tooth so as to positively maintain the load suspendedl ln order to thereafter permit the load to descend or withdraw rapidly and without controlled resistance, it is only necessary to releasethe latch 47 while the brake pawl 3i is in released or off position as in Fig. 5, whereupon the load will cause the drum 17 to rotate freely in a clockwise direction as viewed in Fig. 8. However, if controiled lowering or withdrawal of the load is desired, the lbrake pawl 31 may be swung into active or on position as in Fig. 6, after which the crank handle 25 may be reversely rotated in a counter-clockwise direction so as to convert the driving assemblage from a clutch into a brake adapted to release the load actinU upon the drum 17 and permitting it to descend by gravity gradually and at any desired speed depending upon the extent to which the handle is thus rotated. During this braking action the pawl 31 will hold the pinion 24 against rotation to cause pinion to coact with the brake disk 33 through 4 the friction facing 34 thereby providing the frictional resistance and slippage required to control the speed of rotation of the drum 17 as desired.

From the foregoing detailed description of the construction and operation of the device, it will be apparent that the present invention in fact provides a simple and compact winch which is .highly flexible in its adaptations to haul loads and to release the same at any desired speed. The various parts of the improved assemblage may be durably and accurately constructed primarily of sheet metal with the aid of punches and dies, and conveniently assembled or dismantled. The cup-shaped end walls 12, 13 besides providing a very rigid frame assemblage, also produce effective housings for protecting the more delicate parts of the mechanism, and the frame sections 1G, 11 are iirrnly united by the winch mounting bolts coacting with the openings 26 and by the tie bolt 16 which also provides an extensive bearing for the drum 1,7. The `present improved Winch mechanism may be produced at moderate cost for diverse uses and may ybe safeiy manipulated by a novice, and the Winches have gone into highly satisfactory and successful commercial use.

It should be understood that it is not desired to limit this invention to the exact details of construction and operation of the winch assemblage herein specifically shown and described, for various modifications within the scope of the apllnded ClaimsV may occur to persons skilled in the art.

We claim:

1. Convertible clutch and brake mechanism for the frame supported load carrying drum of a Winch, comprising, a drum actuating shaft rotatable about an axis parallel to the drum axis and having one end journalled in the frame and drivingly connectedY to one end of the drum by gearing including a gear secured to said shaft end while its opposite end is provided with external screw threads, a crank handle having a hub embracing said shaft and provided with internal screw threads coacting with said .shaft threads, a pinion having a supportingV hub embracing said shaftinwardly of saidrscrew threads and which is slidably journalled in said frame for rotation about and movement along the shaft axis at the opposite end of said drum, a rigid disk secured to said shaft in spaced relation to a side of said pinion, a friction plate surrounding said shaft in the space between said disk and said pinion, said crank handle being rotatable in one direction to cause said coacting screw threads to move said disk and said pinion toward each other to thereby clamp said plate between the disk and pinion to positively Vrotate said shaft and said handle being rotatable in the opposite direction to release the plate and to cause the load to Vdescend by gravity, a holding latch cooperable with said gear to positively prevent rotation of said shaft and drum when said handle is released but being automatically retractable from the gear whenever the handle is manipulated to lift a load, and a releasable pawl pivotally suspended from said frame and being cooperable with the teeth of said pinion to position the pinion relative to said disk and friction plate so as to enable the handle to adjust the frictional braking force which retardsthe fall of the load whenever said crank handle is being rotated in said opposite direction. V

2. Convertible clutch and brake mechanism for the frame supported load carrying drum of a winch, comprising, a drumactuating shaft rotatable about an axis parallel to the drum axis and having one end journalled in the frame and drivingly connected to-one end of the drum by gearing including a gear secured to said shaft end while its opposite end is provided with external screw threads, a crank handle having a hub embracing said shaft and provided with internal right hand screw threads coacting with said shaft threads, a pinion having a supporting hub embracing said shaft inwardly of said screw threads and which is Yslidgably journalled inV said `trarne for rotation about and movement along the shaft axis at the opposite end of said drum, a rigid disk secured to said shaft in spaced relation to a side of said pinion, a friction plate surrounding said shaft in the space between said disk and said pinion, said crank handle being rotatable in a clockwise direction to cause said coacting screw threads to move said disk and said pinion toward each other to thereby clamp said plate between the disk and pinion to positively rotate said shaft and said handle being rotatable in a counter-clockwise direction to release the plate and to cause the load to descend by gravity, a holding latch cooperable with said gear to positively prevent rotation of said shaft and drum when said handle is released but being automatically retractable from the gear whenever the handle is manipulated to lift the load, and a manually releasable pawl pivotally suspended from said frame and being cooperable with the teeth of said pinion to position the pinion relative to said disk and friction plate so as to enable the handle to adjust the frictional braking force which retards the fall of 6 the load whenever said crank is being rotated in a counter-clockwise direction.

References Cited in the le of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 267,638 Wright Nov. 14, 1882 1,795,058 Townsend Mar. 3, 1931 1,833,648 Johnson Nov. 24, 1931 2,254,989 Benson Sept. 2, 1941 2,417,199 Hite Mar. 11, 1947 2,495,811 Hollmann Ian. 31, 1950 2,590,610 Grosch Mar. 25, 1952 2,654,570 Voda Oct. 6, 1953 2,690,240 Schroeder Sept. 28, 1954 2,747,838 Riemann May 29, 1956 2,849,089 Lindmark Aug. 26, 1958 2,891,824 Fulton .lune 23, 1959 FOREIGN PATENTS 457,696 Germany -a Mar. l21, 192,8 

